


All That Glitters

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Falling In Love, Getting lost in the woods, Holding Hands, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Searching for possible evidence in the woods around Twin Peaks, Harry and Dale end up getting lost.





	All That Glitters

**Author's Note:**

> I want to get lost in the woods with someone and make out

Detective Cooper and Sheriff Truman made their way through the woods of Twin Peaks. There had been a tip that there was evidence in the woods pertaining to Laura Palmer’s murder. But the only problem was, the tip didn’t tell them where. And Twin Peaks has a lot of woods. 

“I think we’ve been sent on a wild goose chase.” Harry said, glancing around them. “We’re not gonna find anything with such vague instructions.”

“Don’t lose hope. I have a feeling that fate will lead us towards what we’re looking for.” That was Coop, always trying to look on the positive side. “Might take us a while, but we’ll find whatever it is.”

Harry smiled, shaking his head. “If you wanna keep getting deeper into bear country, be my guest.” 

Cooper stopped, looking around. “Are there really bears here?”

“Oh, yeah. Bears, cougars. Moose might even be more terrifying than bears.”

“This place never ceases to amaze me. Moose! I’ve never even seen one before.”

“They’re a lot bigger than you’d expect. Around six feet at the shoulder. Sometimes animal control calls us in to help deal with them if they get too much to handle.” 

“Fantastic. Megafauna of the modern age.” Cooper paused. “Where are we?”

Harry looked around. To his surprise, he found no recognizable landmarks. “I have no idea. We must’ve gone beyond where I know.” He looked back in the direction they came from. “Yeah, I have no idea where we are.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Cooper approached a nearby tree. “Will you give me a boost?”

“You know, these trees aren’t exactly conducive to climbing. Most of the branches aren’t wide enough to support your weight.” 

“I think I can do it. Plus, you’ll be here to catch me if I fall.”

Oddly enough, Harry felt himself go warm. A pleasant warmth, like drinking a fine scotch. And he soon found himself boosting Cooper up into the tree. He watched with bated breath as Cooper climbed up ten, twenty, thirty feet. It was nothing compared to the height of the tree. “Getting tired?” Harry yelled. 

“Not yet!” Cooper paused in his ascent, turning to look around. “These trees are a lot bigger than I expected. I still can’t see much.”

“Why don’t you come back down, and we can figure out what to do then?”

“Good idea, Harry. I’ll be right down.” Coop began to work his way down, at a far slower pace than when he was climbing up. He was clearly hesitant, and for good reason. Fifteen feet from the ground, Coop’s foot slipped, and he fell a few inches before latching back onto the tree. 

Harry felt his heart rate ratchet up. “You ok?”

“I’m fine! Almost there.”

“Be careful. I don’t need you breaking something after you’ve already gotten shot.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it all under cont-“ He slipped again, this time not being able to grab the tree. Fortunately, Harry had been standing just below him, and managed to catch him bridal-style before he hit the ground. 

“Woah. Hey. I told you to be careful.” Harry probably could have put Coop down right then and there. But he didn’t really want to. Cooper was lighter than he looked, and Harry could tell that the man was trembling slightly. Anyone would, after falling out of a tree. 

“My knight in shining armor. Good catch.”

Now, he really should have put Coop down. But he kind of liked the prolonged contact. He liked being close to Coop. It was different, from being close to someone like Josie. Josie was nice, and she made him feel good, but that was it. With the smallest of glances, Cooper could instantly spark happiness within Harry. Even being around the man made his day better. It was as if Cooper exuded some kind of energy that pulled Harry to him, and made him not want to let go. 

“You can probably put me down now, Harry. As much as I enjoy it, we do have things to do.”

Harry was pulled from his stupor and put Cooper down. He then turned away, in an attempt to hide the blush now spreading across his face. “Sorry. Got distracted.”

“No problem. So, which direction do we go?”

“Back where we came from, I’d say. It’ll getting dark soon, and it’s not good to be out in these woods at night.”

“Because of the bears?”

“No, because of the evil spirits that seem to lurk in these woods.” Harry grinned. “And the bears.”

“Then let’s get a move on.”

They proceeded back through the woods in the direction they thought they had come from. Unfortunately, they hadn’t come in a straight path, and things soon became unrecognizable. The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, and the only thing telling them where they were was the sound of a stream that was somewhere nearby. 

“I still have no idea where we are.” Muttered Harry. “We should probably stop for the night and try and find somewhere to make camp.”

“Excellent idea. How should we do that?”

“Well, we should probably build a fire. But we can’t just build it anywhere, since we want to avoid any chance of a forest fire. Too many tourists have accidentally lit trees ablaze because of their ignorance.”

“I’m ready to learn how to not make that mistake.”

Within a few minutes, they had found a good sort of clearing, and dug out a small fire pit. There was more than enough kindling in the area, and soon, a fire was blazing between them, just as the sun set and the woods were bathed in darkness. 

“We probably should’ve eaten before this.” Harry said, laying against a tree and poking the fire with a stick. 

“Ah, well. Tomorrow we can have the breakfast of our lives at Norma’s diner. Pie on me.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I insist. You did catch me, after all.” 

“After I told you to be careful.”

“I was! It was the tree’s fault for not having wide enough branches.” 

Harry chuckled. “Sure, Coop. Just keep telling yourself that.”

A sound came from out of the woods, and Cooper slid around the fire to the side Harry was sitting at. He sat just close enough for their legs to bump together. “Any idea what that could be?” 

“No idea. Sounds small though. Nothing to be worried about.” 

“Of course. Remind me how to kill a bear again?”

“You don’t, really. If you see one, your best bet is to play dead. In a fight with a bear, the bear is almost always going to win.” 

“I’m so glad to be stuck in woods full of them.”

“Don’t worry. They’re probably going to avoid us since we have a fire and there’s easier prey to catch.” 

“We should still probably sleep in shifts to keep watch, though. I can go first.”

“Let me take the first watch. I know these woods better. And I also know the difference between a squirrel in the trees and a moose.”

“That’s… probably right. You take first watch.”

They chatted for a few hours more, until Cooper fell asleep. Originally, his head rested against the tree, but after a moment it ended up on Harry’s shoulder. Harry prayed that the racing of his heart wouldn’t wake Coop up. 

But why was his heart racing? They were just two good friends, lost in the woods, one sleeping on the other’s shoulder. There was nothing inherently odd about the situation. Certainly nothing that explained why his heart was beating so hard, or why he felt like there was something nearly romantic about the situation. They weren’t romantically involved. Harry hadn’t even thought about Coop that way. Not most of the time anyway. Sure, there was that one time he had had a dream involving the two of them, but that wasn’t important. 

Was it?

Harry realized that he needed to really, genuinely weigh out how he felt about Cooper. They were as tight as two people could be, and Harry often felt that the best part of his day came when he was around Cooper. Hell, he loved the guy like a… more than a best friend, but not like a brother. He loved Cooper like he should have loved Josie. Wholeheartedly. When he woke up in the morning, he found himself disappointed that Coop wasn’t there next to him. 

Damn. He really was in deep. Way, way too deep. 

Cooper stirred beside him, not waking up, but putting an arm around Harry’s torso. It was comforting, in the dark of the night. And it was at that time he knew he didn’t want Dale to let go. 

Harry woke up a few hours later, blinking into the sunlight. He hadn’t even realized he had fallen asleep, but now it was morning. Cooper had left his side, and was instead walking around the clearing, examining the woods around them. “Fell asleep.” Harry muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“I did notice that. Luckily nothing ate us while we were defenseless.”

Harry dragged himself to his feet. His back had not appreciated sleeping against a tree. He should’ve known. “How long’ve you been up?”

“A few minutes. I think I’ve figured out where that stream is.”

“Good. We can probably follow it back into town.” 

Cooper had picked up a large stick, and was using it as a walking stick. It made him look a bit like a woodland wizard. The thought made Harry smile. 

They continued through the woods, and after what felt like hours finally stumbled upon the stream. It was small, and was probably fed by the melting of snow. Harry knelt down and splashed some into his face, the chill refreshing and waking him up some more. 

“I think,” Harry said, “if we follow it that way, it’ll lead us back towards town. Or if nothing else, something recognizable.”

“You lead the way, Harry. These are your woods, after all.”

Harry couldn’t help feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the sentiment. Truthfully, he didn’t know much about the woods. Only enough to avoid getting killed. But it was more than what Coop knew, so they would have to depend on that. 

As they walked beside the stream, Harry began to feel an urge to hold Dale’s hand. There was absolutely no purpose to it, and it wouldn’t help them at all, but he yearned for physical contact with the man. He was so busy weighing the pros and cons he barely noticed that they had reached a fork in the stream. 

“Right.” He muttered. “That doesn’t help us.” 

“Which way should we turn?” Asked Coop. 

“I don’t know.”

“Then go with your gut. Which way do you think leads us back?”

Harry looked down the two paths. His gut said the left one would take them back, and that was really all they had to go on. So he nodded towards the left stream. “That way.”

They followed the chosen path, and soon the stream had joined a larger river. Harry spotted a few fish, and realized just how hungry he was. Hopefully they would get back to town soon. 

He still really wanted to hold hands with Dale. So, he attempted to make it look as absentminded as possible when he mustered up the courage to lock hands with the other man. Dale noticed, of course, but thankfully had no quarrels with it. And god, it felt good. 

They continued up the river hand in hand, until Dale seemed to get distracted by something. He slipped his hand from Harry’s and ran up ahead, before stooping down to pick something up. It was a few seconds before Harry caught up with him, eyebrows raised. 

“Look at this.” Dale held a small stone, glittering in the sunlight. 

“It’s pretty.”

“Do you know what it could be?”

Harry shook his head. “No idea. My knowledge in geology is limited at best. But if you want to bring it back, we can have one of the professors from the community college a few towns over give it a look.”

“I think I prefer the air of mystery it has currently.” Dale looked at the stone for a moment more. Then, he took Harry’s hand and placed the stone into his palm. “Here. It’s for you.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “But you found it. It’s yours.” 

“I want you to have it. Think of it as a memory of our impromptu camping trip.”

“God, I love you.” Harry said. He paused. He hadn’t intended for that to slip out. But after he said it, he felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. Closing his fingers around the stone, he said it again. “I love you.”

Dale froze, and for a moment Harry worried he was going to turn around and leave him in the forest. After a moment, Dale replied softly, “I had been worrying my affection was unrequited. I’m glad to see it’s not.”

Deciding to throw aside all subtlety, Harry promptly leaned in and kissed Dale. It was a messy kiss, with teeth clacking and noses mashing, but neither of them seemed to care. 

“I love you.” Harry repeated, running a hand through Dale’s slightly mussed hair. 

“If I’d have known you’d be this enthusiastic, I would’ve gotten lost in the woods with you ages ago.” Dale breathed. “I just had no idea you felt the same way.”

“I didn’t either. Not really. It took me way too long to put the pieces together.”

“What gave it away?”

“Catching you when you fell from that tree. Standing there, holding you, made me realize I never wanted to let you go.” 

“Harry Truman, you romantic.” 

Harry smiled, pressing his forehead to Dale’s. “What happens when you have to leave?”

“We’re going to have to cross that bridge when we get to it, I think. But I’m not leaving if I don’t have to. If I have to quit the FBI, then so be it.”

“You’ll always have a job at the station if you need it.”

“Won’t people think you’re giving me special treatment? Since we are romantically involved.”

Harry felt himself blush. It was bizarre, to think of himself romantically involved with Dale, since he hadn’t really thought about it like that before. “They’ll just have to deal with it. Plus, I think they’ll be fine with it. They like you anyway.” 

“You’re probably right. And we should probably also get out of the woods. I’m starving.”

“That makes two of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was imagining the stone to be opal which is a dope as hell rock and apparently it’s found in Washington state which I found out on google  
> I’m actually a geology major so I love rocks and if someone gave me a shiny rock they found I would be legally required to fall in love with them


End file.
